I had the same problem last Thursday and it turned out to be the cat.

Wish I'd had it checked out sooner - found out that not only do I need a new
cat, but it turns out that debris made its way into the muffler too.

Drew
'90 GL "Blackbeard"

On Wed, Sep 10, 2008 at 8:12 PM, Max Wellhouse <dimwittedmoose@cfu.net>wrote:

> Maybe a clogged cat?  More expensive than the fuel filter, unless
> that nasty Vanagon Gremlin takes that rod and busts out all the
> innards and then the motors runs again.  New I guess they're about $100.
>
>
> DM&FS
>
>
> At 09:20 PM 9/10/2008, Mike wrote:
>
>> Fuel filter sounds about right.
>>  Take it out, pour the contents 'backwards' out into a jar thru a paper
>> towel or coffee filter to see what its caught.  It may be full of a fine
>> sediment or rust particles.
>>  I've had to stop on long trip several times to empty my fuel filter, just
>> to keep on going to my destination.  It kept clogging up, and I kept
>> emptying it out, until it stopped clogging and ran fine for good.  Then,
>> when I got home safely, I replaced the filter. It saved me many new
>> filters,
>> until the problem cleared up.
>>
>> YMMV,
>>
>> Mike B.
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "John Bange" <jbange@GMAIL.COM>
>> To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
>> Sent: Wednesday, September 10, 2008 9:28 PM
>> Subject: Weak..... so weak
>>
>>
>>  Yesterday my work vanagon developed a bad case of the groggies.
>>> Started out as an intermittent loss of power, but has developed
>>> steadily towards permanence. Now O reckon I could do 0-20mph in 3
>>> minutes with the pedal to the floor. It also likes to stall. Haven't
>>> had a chance to poke around much. Sounds an awful lot like fuel
>>> filter. My wallet likes the sound of that. Or maybe air flow meter. My
>>> wallet likes that too, as I already have a spare. Any other probables
>>> on the "loss of power" checklist I might've missed?
>>>
>>> --
>>> John Bange
>>> '90 Vanagon - "Lastwagen"
>>> '90 Vanagon GL - "Wiesel"
>>>
>>